Distortion
by Chaska 1
Summary: AU. Before Lloyd can unite the two worlds, the Eternal Sword reveals to have a consciousness and, in order to see if Lloyd is worthy, the Eternal Sword sends Lloyd to live 8 different timelines.
1. Beginning

**Beginning**

With the Eternal Sword in his hands, Lloyd knew that he had to use it to merge the two worlds. But, when he began to use it, something felt... off. Despite the fact that he was assured that he would be able to wield the Eternal Sword thanks to the 'aionis' stone, Lloyd saw his surroundings beginning to lose color, then everything was starting to become distorted, and finally he was surrounded by darkness.

It all happened so fast that Lloyd didn't have time to react until he saw that he was in a void of darkness.

"Wha-!? Everyone! Colette! Professor! Genis! Zelos! Sheena! Presea! Regal! Dad!" Lloyd screamed, then he tried to move, but he was unable to do so.

"What is going on?" Lloyd said out loud while he was trying to somehow move.

"**So, you're my new master... Pathetic.**" A loud, booming voice said.

"Who said that?" Lloyd asked.

"**Are you really that stupid?**" The voice asked.

"Just tell me who you are or-" Lloyd got interrupted by the voice, who said, "**You'll do what? As far I know, you can't even move.**"

"I'll scream." Lloyd said, but, before he could do that, Lloyd felt something covering his mouth.

"**Now, now. We can't have that.**" The voice said while Lloyd was trying everything in his power to make a sound.

"**How could my Master lose to someone like **_**you**_**.**" The voice said.

Upon hearing that, Lloyd stopped struggling and began to think about the real identity of the entity that was holding him.

"**I see that you have finally decided to shut up. But, even though I find your thinking face funny, my patience is running thin. So, I will tell you who I am unless by some miracle you have already figured it out.**" The voice said to which Lloyd responded by glaring the same way that Kratos used to glare at him during the beginning of his journey.

"**Nice glare, but you're going to need to do better than that if you want to scare me. Anyways, I am the Eternal Sword.**" The Eternal Sword said which confused Lloyd.

"**I can see that you're confused, but all you need to know is that I gained a consciousness after spending years with my previous Master, Mithos Yggdrasill.**" After saying that, the Eternal Sword took a brief pause and Lloyd could have sworn that there was a hint of sadness in the Eternal Sword's voice. But, soon after that, the Eternal Sword continued to say, "**To get to the point, I want to make you a proposition.**"

Without realizing it, Lloyd's mouth was no longer covered. So, he was able to say, "A proposition?"

"**Yes, but, if you want me to tell you the definition of that word, I'm afraid you're going to have to ask someone else.**" The Eternal Sword said.

"Can it wait after the two worlds are reunited?" Lloyd asked with an angry and demanding tone.

"**Either you take my proposition or you stay here forever.**" The Eternal Sword said.

"Why you-!" Lloyd got interrupted when the Eternal Sword said, "**Answer NOW!**"

"I accept." Lloyd begrudgingly accepted.

"**Excellent.**" The Eternal Sword said.

Suddenly, everything around Lloyd began to dissolve into white while the Eternal Sword said, "**Listen well, you shall live 8 lives. In each life, I will decide when you die and in the last life I will decide whether you are worthy to wield me.**"

In a second, everything around Lloyd turned white, then black. But, unlike the previous darkness, Lloyd could hear other people talking.

"- Careful." A male voice said.

"Don't-" A feminine voice.

At first, Lloyd couldn't hear them properly until he heard a familiar voice, "Yuan, you are the one who should be careful not Martel."

"Dad!" Lloyd thought as he quickly opened his eyes and saw that he was in a forest and that a woman with long green hair and green eyes was looking at him with a warm expression was looking at him.

"Good morning, Calder. Sorry we woke you up." The woman said.

**Author's Note**

**This is a new story that I created when I was bored and, to be honest, I have no idea at what direction this story will go.**


	2. Life 01

**Life 01: Calder**

"Wait, what!?" Lloyd thought, then he tried to say it but no concrete words came from his mouth instead those words were replaced by gurgles. Upon realizing this, Lloyd desperately tried to say something concrete, but gurgles would come out which infuriated him.

"Sister, I think he is hungry." A young Mithos said.

"Do you have to feed him now? Can't you do it later?" Kratos asked.

"Don't worry, Kratos. It'll be quick." Martel said.

Yuan worryingly looked at Martel and said, "Martel, I think that Kratos is right. We don't know how far the soldiers are from us and you have just gotten cured from the Angel Toxicosis. Also-" Yuan got interrupted by Martel, who got closer to him and gently told him, "Yuan, I know that you are worried, but don't worry everything's going to be fine and I don't think that a stop will be necessary."

Martel looked at Lloyd, who was frantically looking around while trying to decipher what was going on.

"Sister, is there something wrong with him?" Mithos asked with a concerned tone.

Immediately, Yuan checked Lloyd's temperature, but, upon feeling Yuan's hand, Lloyd flinched and unintentionally started to cry and wail which only resulted in Yuan desperately trying to calm Lloyd down by making silly faces and silly voices which only worsen Lloyd's emotional state.

"Stop it!" Lloyd tried to say, but only wails came out.

"Yuan! What are you doing!?" Kratos said.

"I'm trying to calm him down!" Yuan responded.

"You're doing a poor job!" Kratos said.

From then on, it was a screaming match between those two until they sensed an angry and terrifying presence near them. Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd and Mithos turned to look at Martel, who was angrily smiling at both Yuan and Kratos, and she said, "Yuan. Kratos. The both of you should either stop talking or control the volume of your voices."

Both Kratos and Yuan stiffly nodded while Lloyd, who was no longer crying, thought, "She's scary."

When Martel saw that Yuan and Kratos nodded, the angry and terrifying presence disappeared and it was replaced by a warm and happy presence.

"That's good. Let's try to avoid that in the future." Martel said while she was smiling.

Even though it was a scary experience, it did help Lloyd to have a clarity of mind and now he was properly able to examine his surroundings and realize what was going on.

"I appear to be in a forest with D-Kratos, Yuan, Martel, and Mithos. And, I have the body of a baby." Lloyd thought. Then, upon remembering that his body was that of a baby's, Lloyd began to wonder who his parents were, but, before he could make any major breakthroughs, Lloyd began to feel sleepy and closed his eyes.

When Lloyd opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a cave, it was night, and Martel was still carrying him. Before he could do anything else, his stomach growled and he felt a cold liquid coming from him. Martel quickly asked Yuan to give her a clean rag while she started to take off the upper part of her cloth. Lloyd may have never (and probably will never) been the smartest person of both worlds, but he did know what babies drank and were it came from.

"Please, don't!" Was all Lloyd could think, before the inevitable happened and, to his surprise, his body reacted naturally to being fed.

"If I ever see that sword again, I'm going to tell it some words." Lloyd thought after he was fed and changed.

"Martel, I think it's my turn to carry him." Yuan said.

"Are you sure, Yuan?" Martel asked.

"You've been holding him all day. I think it's my time to hold him and you should get some rest." Yuan said.

Martel nodded and carefully handed Lloyd (who was alert) to Yuan.

Upon being carried by Yuan, Lloyd just stared at Yuan and saw that he was trying to make funny faces which made Lloyd smile and laugh a little bit. Then, Yuan began to look at the others who had a surprised expression in their faces.

"What's wrong?" Yuan asked.

"It's just that this is the first time that you'd made him laugh." Martel said.

"Really?" Yuan asked.

"The faces that you make are… Interesting." Mithos said.

"More like threatening." Kratos clarified.

"They're not." Yuan said, then looked at Lloyd and continued, "Right, Calder!"

At this moment, Lloyd kind of felt bad for Yuan, so he smiled and laughed a little.

"You see, he does agree with me!" Yuan said, then resumed in making funny faces and noises which made Lloyd wander whether he made the right decision. Luckily for Lloyd, Kratos managed to stop Yuan by saying, "Yuan, it's already late. Everyone wants to rest, so you better stop with the threatening faces and noises."

"They're not threatening and you're just jealous that I have a son while you don't." Yuan said.

Kratos responded back, but Lloyd didn't hear it because he was more focused on processing the new piece of information. Then, Lloyd began to think about who his mother was and, if it was Martel, Mithos would be his uncle. Also, would he be-

Lloyd got interrupted when he saw Kratos's face in front of him which caused Lloyd to flinch and almost cry.

"You see, Kratos. Your face would scare any baby." Yuan said while trying to calm down Lloyd.

Kratos shrugged and Lloyd managed to calm down.

There was a moment silence, Yuan looked at Martel and Mithos, who were both sleeping, and then he looked at Kratos, who was on the verge of sleeping.

"Hey, Kratos. I'll be on guard for tonight and you can rest." Yuan said.

"No. I'm not tired." Kratos said while desperately trying to keep his eyes open.

"Then, I'll be awake for half of the night and you'll take the other half." Yuan said.

Kratos nodded and, seconds after closing his eyes, Kratos fell asleep, yet he was still standing and remained in a sort of fighting position.

When Lloyd looked at Kratos, Lloyd felt sad because, compared to the Kratos that he knew, this Kratos was younger and… Hopeful. But, before Lloyd could dwell more in that thought, Yuan said, "I'm scared."

Yuan looked at Lloyd (who was looking at Yuan) and continued saying, "I know you won't remember this when you get older, but I still need to say. I'm scared because I don't know how to be a father, in fact, I never met mine nor my mother. Your mom, Martel, keeps telling me that I'll make a great father, but sometimes I doubt that. But, even though I'll make mistakes and you'll probably doubt my capabilities as a father, I want you to know that both I and your mother will always love you and, if something happens to us in this journey, the others will take care you."

Lloyd was shocked because, for the first time, he saw Yuan completely vulnerable as if Yuan was scared that Lloyd would reject him in some way. So, Lloyd gently smiled and giggled which caused Yuan to gently rock Lloyd. Slowly, Lloyd began to fell asleep while thinking about his friends and what the Eternal Sword had told him, but it all seemed to be so far away. Before Lloyd realized it, he was already asleep… Safe in Yuan's arms.

**Author's Note**

**Merry Christmas to everyone and don't forget to RSS!**


	3. Life 01: Meeting

**Life 01: Meeting**

Several months had passed and Lloyd was slowly getting used to everything that had happened to him although he was still thinking about his friends and when they would meet again. But, in the meantime, he was learning about what was going on. And, it turned out that quite a lot had happened (or at least he supposed that a lot had happened after all time gets longer when one is stuck in a baby's body), but it all could be summarized in them trying to stop the Kharlan War, an event that Lloyd knew too well how it was going to end.

"What can I do to change it?" Lloyd thought, but he was snapped out of it when Mithos scared him.

"Mithos!" Martel said while trying to calm down a scared Lloyd.

"What? If he continues with that expression he is going to end up with Yuan's face." Mithos clarified, which resulted in pissing off Yuan, who said, "What's wrong with my face!?"

"Everything." Mithos said.

"You asked for it!" Yuan said while chasing Mithos, who was easily dodging him. When Lloyd calmed down, Yuan was exhausted from chasing Mithos, who was now looking at Lloyd and said with a playful, yet genuinely remorseful tone, "I'm sorry, Calder. Can you forgive me?"

Lloyd just stared at Mithos remembering what he would become, yet at the same, when looking at _this_ Mithos, Lloyd couldn't help but smile and said, "Mithos."

Immediately, a silent aura took over the group and everyone was looking at Lloyd, who was confused at the sudden attention he was receiving.

"Did he just-?" Yuan got interrupted when Mithos excitedly said, "He said my name! I was his first word! Say another word!"

Needless to say, Mithos started to say a long list of words (most of them were at Yuan's and Kratos's expense) while Yuan was trying to make Lloyd say words that would insult Mithos. In the end, Yuan and Mithos ended up in a small fight which reminded Lloyd of how he and Genis used to fight.

"Boys, we should get going." Martel reminded and they both begrudgingly stopped.

After a few more minutes of walking, they all heard an inhuman noise that was getting closer to them. Instantly, everyone (except for Lloyd, who was tightly holding Martel's clothes) got in a battle stance and waited for source of the inhuman noise to reveal itself, but the closer the noise got, the weaker it became until footsteps were the only thing being heard. Then, the source of the inhuman noise revealed itself and it had the appearance of something that Lloyd had never seen.

The creature appeared to be a bird, but there was something off about it. For starters, the 'beak' appeared to be the mouth of a fish, the 'wings' looked like some kind of deformed limbs, grey 'bones' were sticking out of the creature's 'legs and feet', and all of its body was covered with bluish green scales and feathers except for a sport near its wings in which a purple liquid was leaking.

Lloyd didn't know how much time passed until the creature started to vomit the purple liquid and collapsed to the ground while crying (or, at least what Lloyd supposed was crying).

"We should leave." Yuan said.

"No." Martel said, which made everyone look at her in disbelief.

"Sis, I have to agree with Yuan in this." Mithos said.

"That makes two of us." Kratos added.

Martel looked at Lloyd and softly smiled at him, which made him relax and lose his grip off her clothes. Then, Martel handed Lloyd to Mithos and said, "Don't worry everything will be fine."

Slowly, Martel approached the creature and from a safe distance she began to examine it. After she examine it, she realized what the problem was, so she said, "There is a sharp object piercing his body. I need to take it off so I can heal him."

"It's better if either Yuan or I take it off." Kratos said.

"I don't think that that will be possible." Mithos said while pointing at the creature, who started to back away when looking at Kratos.

Before Kratos could retort, Martel approached the creature, who seemed to calm down in Martel's presence. Then, Martel said, "Don't be scared. I'll help you."

When Martel started to remove the sharp object and heal the creature, Lloyd was in awe at how calm Martel was; it was as if she had done it before. It didn't take her long to finish healing the creature, but, when she finished, the creature seemed to want to attack her which caused everyone to run to her defense. Thankfully, the creature didn't want to attack her, instead the creature celebrated by 'flying', but, when the creature saw that everyone was running towards Martel, the creature quickly ran towards a thin looking tree and tried to hide behind it.

"Is it hiding?" Mithos said with a confused tone.

"It is." Yuan responded with an equally confused tone.

Everyone looked at the creature and tried to decipher why it was hiding, but it was to no avail.

"We should kill it." Kratos said, which caused everyone to look at him.

"We shouldn't do that!" Martel said.

"Give me a reason why we shouldn't." Kratos said.

"He didn't kill us." Martel pointed out.

"Martel, for all we know, it didn't kill us because it realize that we have weapons." Yuan calmly stated.

Martel seemed to be persuaded by Yuan's argument until she said, "Then, he should join our group so that we can keep an eye on him."

Needless to say, everyone thought she was crazy. But, she didn't seem to be fazed about it, so she continued, "Think about it. If he stays with us, we can make sure that he won't harm anyone else and, if he tries to attack us, we can defend ourselves."

Due to that explanation, Yuan, Kratos, and Mithos tried everything to make her change her mind, but she didn't until everyone accepted her dangerous idea.

"This is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard." Kratos murmured and Lloyd agreed with him.

After Martel successfully managed to convince the creature to follow them (albeit a safe distance from them), Martel walked towards Mithos and said, "Mithos, I can carry him."

Mithos looked at Lloyd, "Can I carry him for a bit longer? Please. I think he likes me."

That is when Lloyd realized that he was gripping Mithos's clothes and actually felt safe in his arms.

"Mithos." Lloyd said with a smile in his face which made Mithos smile and say, "That's right, Calder. Now, can you say 'Idiot Yuan'. "

In order to mess with Yuan, Lloyd did try to say that, but, before he made any significant progress, Yuan stopped him by saying, "Say, 'Daddy', Calder. "

"No, Calder. Say 'Idiot Yuan'." Mithos said.

Eventually, it ended up with Mithos and Yuan bickering over what Lloyd should. So, in order to stop their bickering, Lloyd said the most neutral word that came to his mind, which was 'Mama'. Just like the time he said his first word, everyone was quiet and in shock except for Martel was beaming with both happiness and pride. Soon, Lloyd found himself being hugged by Martel and… It felt nice.

"Sis, you told me I could carry him." Mithos reminded her.

"You will… After a few minutes." Martel said.

"Not fair." Mithos said.

Soon, both Mithos and Martel were having a playful, sibling banter.

"They really are related." Lloyd thought while watching their banter.

A few minutes after the banter, Martel gave Lloyd to Mithos, who was happy when Lloyd was handed to him. So, they continued to walk until suddenly they stopped; Lloyd tried to see what was going on, but Mithos pulled him to his chest and wouldn't let go. Next, the only noise that he could here were the steps of the rest of the group until Mithos said, "Sister, is everyone-?"

Mithos was interrupted by Martel nodding.

"It looks like it is going to rain." Yuan said.

"We can hide on a cave." Mithos said.

"I doubt it. By the looks of it, a big storm is going to come quickly and I don't think we will find another place to rest." Kratos said.

"But, this place is-!" Mithos got interrupted by Martel, who said, "Mithos, just for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll leave."

"But, the people. They-" Mithos got interrupted by Yuan, who said, "If we stay in the morning, then there is a chance that a Sylvaranti or a Tethe'allan army might come back."

"Why would either of them come back here?" Mithos asked.

"Mithos, that is something that should be discussed later. For now, our main objective should be to find a shelter." Kratos said to which Mithos begrudgingly nodded.

Again, the only thing that Lloyd heard was the group's steps until they entered a big house, or rather what was left of it.

"It still has some of its ceiling left and the walls appear to be strong. The only thing we need is something to block the big gap in the ceiling." Kratos said.

After saying that, the creature climb to the wall and used its body to block the gap on the ceiling which surprised everyone in the group.

"Thank you for helping us." Martel said.

"Maybe, it's waiting for us to lower our guards so it can kill us." Kratos said with a low voice.

"I doubt it." Martel said, but Kratos wasn't convinced.

"Speaking about guards, it's better if I guard the outside while Kratos guards the inside." Yuan said.

"You need to be careful when it starts to rain." Martel reminded him.

Yuan kissed her on the cheek and said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Martel said something in return, but Lloyd didn't hear it because he had fallen asleep. Unbeknownst to everyone, the village they were in would one day become Palmacosta, but now it was just one of the many nameless villages which was destroyed by one or both armies and, those who didn't die on the battlefield, were brutally abused by the soldiers, who then impaled the survivors' bodies for everyone to see.

**Author's Note**

**New chapter, don't forget to RSS, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! **


	4. Life 01: Elves

**Life 01: Elves**

Lloyd wasn't sure when they left the house, but, when he opened his eyes, it was already morning, the sky was cloudy, he was hungry, and he wet himself. In a span of a few seconds, Lloyd started to cry until he was fed and changed by Martel.

"I really want to grow up." Lloyd thought after the whole ordeal. But, then he realized that everyone in the group (including the creature) was exhausted, yet alert at the same time as if they were awaiting an attack.

"I think we lost them." Mithos whispered.

The only response that Mithos had was silence and the silence stretched for a few agonizing minutes until Yuan and Kratos slightly relaxed, and Kratos announced, "Yes, we did."

"I think it's better if we continue to walk." Yuan said.

"Do you really think we can trust those rumors?" Kratos asked.

"Do you have a better idea?" Yuan responded.

Kratos remained silent until Mithos asked, "Why did they return?"

Yuan sighed, then Kratos looked at Martel, who slowly nodded.

"Mithos, do you know how soldiers are recruited? And, why some battalions have extra camps?" Kratos asked.

"No." Mithos responded.

"Sometimes, soldiers will find civilians in destroyed villages; searching for shelter or food. And, soldiers will take advantage of that by making them join their battalions or use them in other areas." Kratos said.

Despite the fact that Mithos was an 11-year-old, he managed to grasp what Kratos was saying. As for Lloyd, although he didn't fully grasp it, he knew that there were certain disturbing implications regarding Kratos's words.

"I wonder how different the _real_ Kharlan War was when compared to the one I was taught." Lloyd thought.

"Um… Let's get going." Yuan said.

Everyone nodded in response.

In total, Lloyd would say that they traveled for 8 or 9 days until they stopped when Kratos and Yuan said, "Get cover!"

Immediately, a barrage of arrows came out of nowhere which caused the entire group to defend themselves the best way they could.

"Guardian!" Martel shouted and created a shield to protect the group, but it didn't last long thanks to her exhaustion and the fact that the arrows were infused with small, yet powerful magic. From there on the 'battle plan' was reduced to deflecting arrows while finding out where the attackers were. Miraculously, the group managed to deflect the arrows, but they realized that their attackers were elves, who were surrounding them and getting ready to attack them.

"Please, stop! We had no idea that were walking through your territory!" Martel said, but the elves didn't seem to care until a commanding and raspy voice said, "Stop!"

The elves stopped and everyone turned to look who gave that order. And, the one who gave the order turned out to be another elf, but this elf had short brown hair, had a huge scar across his face, he had amber eyes, and he was missing his right arm.

"Lord Belgarath, this are intruders we were getting rid of them." An elf said.

"Calm down, Elgir. Can't you see that they are already tired and that there weapons are on the verge of being useless? Also, are you not able to see the Protozoan that is with them?"

Everyone looked at him with both surprise and confusion.

"If it is a Protozoan, then maybe-" Lloyd's thought were interrupted when Elgir said, "But, Lord Belgarath, those three are-"

"They are going to enter in our village. Do I make myself clear?" Belgarath said.

"Yes, Lord Belgarath." Elgir said and soon he along with the other elves left.

"I would like you to follow me unless you want to fight with me." Belgarath said (although, in Lloyd's opinion, it sounded more like a threat).

"We will follow you." Martel catiously which made Belgarath smile.

They followed Belgarath to a small elf village in which most of the elves lived in tree houses while the minority lived on the ground in small houses made from leaves, but one thing that was constant was the glares that they received or, more specifically, the glares that Martel, Yuan, and Mithos received because, when the elves looked at Lloyd, there was an obvious look of disgust in their faces while the little elf children, who had no idea why strangers had gotten into their village, started to ask questions to their parents only to receive an answer for them (the elf children) to return back to their houses.

"Why is this taking so long?" Lloyd thought because to him this 'walk' was too slow and it felt more like some sort of exhibition than a walk.

Finally, the group entire a big house made up of leaves of different colors and black wood. Inside of the house, there was a big, round, wooden table with 5 chairs around it. Out of the 5 chairs, 4 chairs already had an elf seated on them.

"My friends, thank you for attending as fast as you could and I'm sorry for the hasty way the council was called, but, as you can see, I had no option." Belgarath said.

The elves of the council looked at the group with an scrutinizing glare until Belgarath walked to the table, sat on the table, and said, "Now, can one of you tell all of us why you were in our territory?"

Martel wanted to speak, but, upon opening her mouth, Belgarath said, "Someone who isn't an abomination."

That insult struck a nerve with everyone in the group, but an arrow landed dangerously near them. By the way that the arrow had landed, it was obvious that the attacker was outside, but no one in the group managed to spot him.

"That's a small reminder for you to know _where_ you are." Belgarath calmly said.

Begrudgingly, the group calmed down. Then, Belgarath said, "So, will someone tell us?"

"I will." Kratos said.

"Our group is searching for Sylph and we heard that it lived somewhere in this area. We didn't know that your village was in this area." Kratos said which caused Belgarath to laugh.

"And who told you that?" Belgarath asked.

"It's a popular rumor in the Sylvaranti and Tethe'allan armies." Kratos said.

"Well, you are half right about what you've heard." Belgarath said.

"What do you know?" Kratos asked.

"I would tell you, but I first want you to tell me about yourself and your group. An exchange of information." Belgarath said.

"My name is Kratos Aurion and I was born in Tethe'alla, where I became a general for the main Tethe'allan army until I met Yuan, Martel, and Mithos who managed to convince me to join them in their quest to end this war once and for all. Now, due to the fact that I have recently met them, you would have to ask my companions for their past." Kratos said.

"How dare you make our Lord talk to-!" An elf said, but he got interrupted by Belgarath, who raised his hand which signaled the elf to shut up.

"Very well, I'll speak with… _Them_." Belgarath said, then looked at Martel, Yuan, Mithos, and Lloyd.

"You, the one with the green hair. What is your story?" Belgarath asked.

Lloyd felt as Martel hold him closer and he felt her hands slightly tremble, yet her face remained calm and somewhat confident.

"My name is Martel and, as you already know, I'm a half elf. My mother and father died shortly after my little brother, Mithos, was born. And, like my companion previously said, our goal is to end this war which I'm sure that all of you can agree has gone for far too long." Martel said.

"And, how exactly do you plan to end this war?" Belgarath asked.

"By using the power of the Summon Spirits, we will be able to restore the World Tree's mana. That way, there will be enough mana for both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla." Martel responded.

"Even with the World Tree's mana restored, there is still the problem of the magitechnology to be resolved. What do you plan to do about that?" Belgarath asked.

"I believe that there must be an alternative way to the magitechnology that won't require the use of a lot of mana." Martel said.

"Do you really believe that?" Belgarath asked.

Lloyd felt her hands stopped trembling while she confidently said, "I do. Don't you?"

The rest of the elves looked at her with shock, but Belgarath quickly managed to overcome his shock and laughed.

"I must say that you are full of surprises. But, now I'm interested in knowing about your blue haired companion." Belgarath said.

"My name is Yuan Ka-Fai. I was born in Sylvarant where I became a general, but, after witnessing numerous battles, I decided to quit and joined Martel and Mithos." Yuan said.

"How come _you_ managed to become general? Last I heard, the humans weren't so accepting of _your_ kind." Belgarath said.

"My skills speak for themselves and, under different circumstances, I would personally show them to you." Yuan said.

"Tempting, but I'll pass. Now, what about you?" Belgarath asked while pointing at Mithos.

"My name is Mithos and, after everything that happened to my sister and me, we have decided to embark on this journey to stop this senseless war." Mithos said.

"All of you are interesting, but what I'm most curious is how you managed to befriend a Protozoan and if that _baby_ is yours." Belgarath said while first looking at the Protozoan, then turning to look at Lloyd, who felt the disgust emanating from Belgarath.

"After healing him, we agreed that it was a good idea for him to accompany us. And, the baby is my and Yuan's son, and his name is Calder." Martel said.

"That is interesting. By the way, your last name and the one of your younger brother wouldn't be Yggdrasill, right?" Belgarath said.

"Why are you so interested in that?" Yuan asked while protectively putting himself in front of the group.

"I have my reasons because, in the case that their last name is Yggdrasill, I could easily inform it to Lord Magnus in order for him to personally confirm whether they are the, as he said, 'two abominable half-breeds of his previous wife'. Or, we can make a deal." Belgarath said.

"What kind of deal?" Yuan suspiciously asked.

"You'll be escorted to where 'Sylph' most likely is." Belgarath said.

"Most likely?" Yuan asked.

"The Summon Spirits have the habit of changing their location, thus it's very hard to know where they are. But, in this time of the year, it is most likely that 'Sylph' is in the Lone Valley."

"What if it's not their?" Kratos asked.

"Then, you'll have to wait until 'Sylph' appears there." Belgarath responded.

"Why would we do that?" Yuan asked.

"You wouldn't want to leave that _thing_ an orphan, would you?" Belgarath said while looking at Lloyd.

Immediately, everyone in the group glared at him, but Belgarath seemed to be calm and smiled, then continued to say, "Seeing that none of you want that, I have decided that at the dawn of the next day you will be escorted to the Lone Valley and, if you manage to find 'Sylph', you'll return, but _that_ is staying with me."

"Why should my son stay here?" Yuan said with an angry tone lacing his words.

"I need some… Insurance to know that you'll come back. But, don't worry nothing bad will happen to it." Belgarath said with a smile in his face.

"Why should we trust you?" Martel cautiously asked.

"Because that's the only option you have." Belgarath stated.

**Author's Note**

**New chapter and, in the next chapter, I'll (probably) flesh out more of Martel's, Yuan's, Mithos's, and Kratos's pasts. Also, don't forget to RSS!**


	5. Life 01: Choice

**Life 01: Choice**

"No, there has to be another option!" Lloyd thought.

"Can we get some time to think about it?" Martel asked.

"Fine, you have until tonight." Belgarath said.

"Thank you." Martel said.

"But, until that, you're going to be in one of the ground houses. And, I will personally escort you there." Belgarath said.

"Just tell us where it is, and we'll walk there." Yuan said.

"That won't be necessary, and I _will_ accompany you… For safety reasons." Belgarath said.

Begrudgingly, the group agreed.

"I don't like him." Lloyd thought while glaring at Belgarath.

The group slowly walked until they reached a shabby house.

"You'll be staying here until you have reached a decision." Belgarath said, then left.

Inside the house, Lloyd noticed that the only thing inside the house was a 'bed', which was a pile of dirty leaves.

"If they don't want us here, they should just tell us." Mithos murmured and, when Lloyd saw his expression, Lloyd was reminded about what Mithos would become. But, Martel gently put a hand on Mithos's right shoulder and Mithos relaxed when he felt her hand.

"For now, we shouldn't dwell on that." Martel softly told him.

"But, sis-!" Mithos got interrupted by Kratos, who said, "She's right, Mithos. Now, we have more important matters to attend to."

"Like our final decision." Yuan said.

"We can't leave Calder alone!" Mithos said.

"Maybe we won't." Martel said which caused everyone to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Kratos asked.

"Maybe one of us can remain here or he could stay." Martel said.

"Who is 'he'?" Everyone in the group (except for Lloyd, who was beginning to fall asleep) asked.

"Yes, him." Martel said while pointing at the Protozoan, who was peacefully sitting on a corner of the house.

"Why do you keep referring to it as a 'him'?" Kratos asked.

"Because it is as he." Martel said with an assuring tone, which caused Kratos to respond back, but he decided to quit it at the last minute and, instead asked, "Do you think Belgarath will accept having… _Him_ here?"

"I think so. Do you remember how he reacted when he saw him?" Martel asked.

"We can't put all of our hopes on that." Yuan pointed out.

"Is all we have." Martel thought, then she looked at her son, who was peacefully sleeping.

"I don't want him to be alone." Martel said while pulling her son closer to her.

"I can ask him for me to stay here." Mithos said.

"He won't accept it." Yuan said.

Mithos didn't want to admit it, but he knew that Yuan was right. So, Mithos stayed quiet with a sad look on his face.

"Don't be sad, Mithos. We will come back and it won't take long." Martel said, which managed to cheer up Mithos a little.

"Anyways, should we tell Belgarath or will he come here?" Kratos asked.

"Let him come here." Yuan bitterly said.

"It's better if one of us goes to tell him about our decision." Martel suggested.

"After the the way he treated all of you, why do you suggest that?" Kratos asked.

"I grew up in an elf village and believe me that in order to not anger him. It's better if one of us goes to tell him." Martel with a gentle, yet serious tone.

Before anyone could respond back, they heard footsteps getting closer to them which immediately made them get ready for a battle.

"Is this how you greet all of your visitors?" Belgarath asked with an amused tone.

"Just those we don't fully trust." Yuan said.

"If it was said be a _pure_ elf, I would be hurt, but coming from you it's just amusing." Belgarath said with a smile on his face.

"What do you want?" Kratos asked.

"First, put down all your weapons." Belgarath said, which the group begrudgingly obeyed.

"That's better. Now, I heard 'rumors' that you have already come to a decision." Belgarath said with a big smile on his face.

"Whoever you heard this 'rumors' from didn't inform what our decision is?" Kratos asked.

"Lucky for you, I personally wanted you to tell me your decision." Belgarath said.

"We have accepted your offer on the condition that one of us stays with my son." Martel said.

"I'm afraid that the elves of this village aren't so keen on being with _your_ kind, which also includes you." Belgarath said while briefly pointing at Kratos at the end of his speech.

"What about him… The protozoan?" Martel said, which managed to catch Belgarath's attention.

"Well, under normal circumstances no stranger would be welcome, but I can make an exception for the Protozoan." Belgarath said.

The protozoan menacingly glared at Belgarath, who was unfazed by that glare.

"Thank you." Martel said.

"I'll see you at dawn." Belgarath said before he left.

"I hate him." Yuan said when Belgarath left.

"Still, we already gave him our decision." Martel reminded him.

"But what he is making us do-!" Yuan stopped talking when he realized that the volume of his voice was making his son wake up. Luckily, Martel managed to make Lloyd fall back asleep.

Yuan gently caressed his son's face as if it was made of glass. Then, Yuan glared at Protozoan, who meekly put his head down avoiding Yuan's glare. Slowly, Yuan walked towards the Protozoan and said, "Protect my son with your life or you'll have to deal with me."

"I don't think the Protozoan will understand you." Kratos said.

"You're wrong." Yuan said after the Protozoan seemingly nodded.

"We should rest. We have to wake up at dawn." Martel said.

"You, Mithos, and Calder take the… Bed. Kratos and I will sleep on the floor along with the Protozoan." Yuan said.

"Are you sure?" Martel asked which made both Kratos and Yuan nod.

After that was agreed on, they all went to sleep, but late at night Martel woke up and realized that Mithos wasn't asleep, instead he was sitting and appeared to be in deep thought.

"Mithos." Martel whispered loud enough for Mithos to hear.

"Sis, you're awake." Mithos said.

"And, so are you." Martel pointed out which made Mithos smile.

"Sorry. I just couldn't sleep." Mithos said.

"Why?" Martel asked.

"I was thinking about mom… Even though I never met her." Mithos said, but he murmured the last part.

"She was nice, kind, and loved us very much." Martel said.

"But, is it true that she was married to this 'Magnus'?" Mithos asked.

"Yes." Martel said with a sad expression on her face.

"Did you ever meet him?" Mithos asked.

"Yes, but only once and it was very easy to see why our mother had left him." Martel said.

"Why do you say that?" Mithos asked.

"Honestly, when I saw him, he had the appeared to be a prince of some fairytale come to life, but his personality was anything but a prince's. He was arrogant, selfish, abusive, and self-absorbed in his ego." Martel said.

"Then, why did mom marry him?" Mithos asked.

"From what I know, elves prefer arranged marriages that would benefit the spouses' families and mom's family was no exception. From what she told me, her family had a lot of influence and so did his, thus they were betrothed to each other when they were babies." Martel explained.

"There was no way out for her." Mithos said.

"Until she met dad and… She was happy." Martel said with pained tone because every time she remembered what her family used to be it brought her sadness because she knew that those times were never going to come back.

"I wish I could have met them." Mithos said.

"Do you want to hear a secret they told me?" Martel said and Mithos eagerly nodded, which caused Martel to say, "It doesn't matter where we are, we will always be together."

Martel gently patted Mithos's head and told him to go to sleep.

"Sis, are we also going to always be together?" Mithos asked.

"Yes." Martel said with a smile in her face.

"Good night, sis." Mithos said.

"Good night, Mithos." Martel said.

**Author's Note**

**New chapter and don't forget to RSS!**


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